A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my first spinning lesson and how my teacher has a theory that dancers find it easier to learn because they’re use to making complicated movements with their feet at the same time as with their hands. Being a complete klutz at dancing, I hadn’t expected to be a very quick learner, but in the event I turned out not to be too bad.
When I put some thought into why this was, I concluded it was probably because I’m used to cycling and peddling is similar to treadling. However, I’m not sure that’s the whole story.
Last week I was thinking about designing a fair isle pattern, so I flicked through some stitchonaries while riding my indoor bike. Within about ten minutes I’d worked out what I wanted to do.
Normally I’d read a novel while I’m cycling, but working out the fair isle before I even got in the shower made me feel I’d caught a steal on the day and I wondered what else I could do. Two years ago, when I started cycling indoors, I tried to knit and cycle, but it slowed my peddling so much it wasn’t worth doing. Two years on, remembering my spinning success, I decided to give it another go.
This time around it was easy to cycle at speed, and in the last couple of days I’ve knitted a whole Santa sack while cycling.
![20170913_135021[9977]](https://dartmoorcreative.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/20170913_1350219977.jpg?w=768)
My guess is that two years of reading while cycling has trained my legs to keep peddling while I think about other stuff. In turn this has made learning to spin a little easier and learning to spin, has improved my ability to coordinate my hands and feet separately. This feels very satisfying and was a great reminder of the importance of stretching myself to learn new things and that learning something new is rarely just about learning that new thing 🙂
Dartmoor Creative 
Oh I so agree with you Becki – practise something long enough and amazing things start to happen – just as you have proven to yourself. The trick being I think that you layer things up slowly – like the patting and rubbing of heads and tummies – start doing the one, add in the other and ‘Voila!’ as they say across your ditch…… Next thing – you’ll be peddling and spinning 🙂 maybe a drop spindle needs to be acquired in readiness?
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Yess I’m all for things you can do while crafting at the same time! It just feels so productive
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Talk about multi-tasking!! That really is an achievement. I need to try and see if I can do some mindless crochet while cycling! I can already picture the tangled mess that I’d end up with from the cycling my hands would also be doing 😀
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I can’t even keep the rhythm going on a treadle sewing machine so there’d be no hope for me at the spinning wheel although, strangely, I’m quite good at dancing or at least I used to be.
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Knitting and cycling? I like that idea! Maybe I will give it a shot sometime. 😀 I can spin so maybe I can do that?
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It sounds like you’ve got the whole multi-tasking thing worked out! What a great way to start the day.
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Wow how productive. This is probably the only way I’d not get bored when trying to use an indoor bike, but I’m not sure my coordination would be good enough
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If you ever see it as good plan, don’t let the coordination thing put you off. My experience has proved you get better – just build up slowly. And BTW I was so uninterested in doing it, it took me a year to get the turbo trainer out of the box after I bought it 🙂
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Well done not just for multitasking but revisiting an old belief. I know I rarely take the time to revisit ideas unless I am forced to. I will ponder on this and see what beliefs I can re-visit
Great post!
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Thank you. Although it was chain of events that fortuitously took me there, so praise for doing it not really deserved. And your comment has made me think I also could analyse few more – might be an especially good time since I feel I’m at a bit of a cross roads now I don’t have my boy with me anymore.
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Oh yes I was there a little while ago x hugs
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Thanks 🙂 xx
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